ECS Transactions (ECST), the Society’s official meeting proceedings publication, will be undergoing some exciting changes over the course of 2018.

At the start of 2018, ECS debuted the newly redesigned cover of ECST. The refreshed design is streamlined and modern, prominently branded with the Society’s colors, green and blue. Adding to ECST’s improved look and feel, all hard copy (CD or USB) editions of ECST purchased from the upcoming 233rd ECS Meeting in Seattle, WA, will feature brand-new premium hardboard packaging.

Also beginning with the Seattle meeting, ECST will no longer be available in a CD/USB combo pack. Instead, those who are interested in purchasing a hard copy edition will be able to purchase either the CD or USB edition. ECST issues will continue to be made available for sale in PDF format through the ECS Online Store. This small change has been made in order to reduce waste, while ensuring that attendees will still be able to purchase ECST issues in their preferred format.

In the Fall of 2011, Sarah Mackenzie, the maid of honor at my wedding, was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer. Sarah and her family were motivated to learn as much as they could about the disease to advocate for her care. They weren’t scientists, but they started searching the literature for relevant articles. One evening, Sarah called us, angry. Every time she found an article that might be relevant to understanding her disease, she ran into a paywall requiring $15-$40 to access it. Public money had paid for the research, yet she was barred from making any use of it. Luckily, she had us. Most people in Sarah’s position don’t have the luxury of friends at wealthy academic institutions with subscriptions to the literature.

During this time, I was pursuing an interest in the business models of scholarly communication. I wanted to understand the ways in which these models interfered with the dissemination of knowledge that could improve quality of life. Sarah’s experience illustrated one key part of the problem–the outcomes of research should be public goods, but the business models of publishing make them exclusive goods. Lack of access to published literature limits our ability to apply what we know to improving others’ quality of life. If doctors can’t access the literature, they can’t keep up with the latest innovations for care. If policy makers can’t access the literature, they can’t create evidence based policies. To advance solutions and cures, the outcomes of research must be open.

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Revisit the thread later today, from12:00 pm to 1:00 pm EST. During this time, ECS President Johna Leddy and ECS Transactions Editor Jeffrey Fergus will respond to questions that have been posted, prioritizing the ones that have received the most upvotes.